


A Hiss of a Lullaby

by TheCookieMonster77



Series: Incomplete Melodies [5]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Romance Isn't The Focus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 05:56:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2840543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCookieMonster77/pseuds/TheCookieMonster77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They may live in hell but at least they have their lullaby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Hiss of a Lullaby

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Erik looks at the boulder falling towards him, and he freezes in fear. He hears a girl screaming at him to move and he idly wonders why he should even bother. To live? He snorts, idly wondering why time seems to slow down. This hell, the Tower of Heaven, isn't worth living for.

The boulder is coming closer and closer and despite the adrenaline pumping through his veins, Erik's still frozen, unable to move even if he wanted to.

He feels something on his foot and something lets him snap his neck down so that he can see a small purple snake resting on his foot, ignorant of its upcoming doom. He's not sure why but, his body's finally responding and he scoops up the snake and jumps out of the boulder's way just in the nick of time.

Erik stumbles and falls, blinking incomprehensibly at his almost killer still crashing down the hill towards the ocean. He feels something wrapping around his wrist as one of the slave drivers whips him back to his feet.

He blinks down at the small reptile who was, for lack of better words,  _nuzzling_  his arm. A smile creeps onto his face, the first he's had since coming to hell. His cheeks quickly start to hurt, the unused muscles protesting but, he ignores the pain and nuzzles the snake back.

His grin grows as the snake stays with him.

* * *

The snake never leaves and Erik makes sure she stays unharmed, safely wrapped around his arm. He doesn't want any harm to ever befall his first friend.

In return, she gives him the honor of naming her Cubellios.

* * *

Erik lays on his back, eyes blankly staring up at the small patch of sky peeking through a small hole in the ceiling. It's early morning, the sky still gray and slowly turning to pink, the signal for them to start working. And, not for the first time, he wishes he has wings so that he could fly out of this god-forsaken place.

He's heard tales about mages. So many of the older slaves speak of eventually being rescued by such people, and he dreams of the gates being stormed and being free once more, the whole world open to him and Cubellios to explore. It's a nice dream but, there's not much time in hell for dreaming.

Instead, he thinks about Dragonslayers. According to the older slaves, they're among the most powerful mages in existence, taught by the dragons themselves. They say the dragons become the mages' parents.

Erik wishes he was a Dragonslayer. Wishes he had a dragon for a parent. He bets that his jailors would never be able to take him away from a dragon and then he would never had come here.

He hears the jailors starting to round up the prisoners in the lower levels (Erik's  _always_ been able to hear them, even if that fussy girl insists that it's impossible) and knows that he won't have his peace much longer. He remembers a lullaby, a distant memory of love, warmth and smiling eyes, and starts to sing what he knows and hum the rest. But, his throat is all scritchy and scratchy from the lack of water, so it comes out sounding more like hissing than anything else.

It's not until the jailor comes and the hissing continues after he stops that Erik realizes Cubellios was singing along with him. Affection bubbles in his heart and Erik feels like he can fly. He croons and nuzzles Cubellios and the affection overflows when she continues to sing to him for the rest of the day. The hissing creeps out a couple of the other kids but, it makes Erik feel safe again, even if it's an illusion. The affection keeps flowing through him until he feels as though he can burst and Erik wishes that he could hear what Cubellios is trying to tell him.

It soon becomes his primary goal in life. He never thought something would take priority over freedom.

* * *

Erik's ears are sharper than ever but, he still can't hear Cubellios's voice. One morning, he strains his ears harder than ever and just when he thinks he can hear her voice, his concentration snaps and the disappointment seeps deep into his bones. Rather than hearing her, he hears of the man who will come to take a few of the strong slaves away.

Erik waits for the man long before the stranger ever opens his cell. He cuts the man off, already knowing what he'll ask. "Name's Cobra. Make me a Dragonslayer, and you got a deal."

The stranger smirks.

* * *

Cobra grumbles a bit as he walks into the meeting room for Oración Seis. The lacrima Brain had implanted hasn't registered with his body yet and it  _itched_. He'd rather have the blinding pain Brain had warned him of over the blasted,  _persistent_  itch. Tch.

Cubellios hisses her part of the lullaby in his ear soothingly. She's taken a liking to that mostly forgotten lullaby and even coaxes him into singing it with her from time to time. She licks his ear to distract him and starts singing slightly louder. The motion's just so soothing that he instantly relaxes and scratches the bottom of her chin in thanks.

"Bleh. Is that thing  _still_  growing?"

Cobra hisses and turns to glare at Angel. She's wearing that stupid white dress again and has an ugly sneer stretched across her face. Bitch. Cubellios hisses with him and Cobra rubs her head. "She's not a  _thing_."

Angel's eyes glint cruelly. "Have you seen the size of it? It's a disgusting  _monster_."

Cobra snarls. "No she's not! She's beautiful!"

And it's true. Cubellios's scales are a gleaming dark purple and she's almost as long as he is tall. And Brain thinks she'll grow even  _bigger_. Cobra even found some wings starting to protrude from her back recently. A thought races through his head and he sneers at Angel, whose eyes narrow. "My beauty," he coos, scratching a preening Cubellios's chin, "will soon be able to  _fly_." He flicks his eyes back at Angel and nearly crows at her stricken look. "Aren't you jealous?"

Angel shrieks and attempts to slap him. Cobra dances out of the way, laughing. Please, he can always read people's movements before they even get close to hitting him; Angel doesn't have a chance in hell of ever taking her anger out on him. A tear runs down her cheek and she suddenly stops trying to hit him. She glares at him and her lower lip trembles before she runs to her seat at the long table on the other side of the room. He should feel guilty since she's about to sob but, he doesn't.

No one can bully Cubellios and get away with it. He'll never allow it.

Cobra hears Brain nearing the room and runs to his seat. Brain walks in with Midnight trailing a bit behind him while rubbing his eyes. Brain doesn't start the meeting right away so Cobra passes the time hissing the lullaby with Cubellios.

Brain clears his throat and they all turn to focus on him. "As I'm sure you have all noticed, I haven't quite been acting myself lately. This is because I have an alter ego that's quite cruel. To avoid unnecessary messes, I will use organic link magic to lock it away with you, my prized mages, as my keys."

Cobra preens a bit at the praise. He'll become the strongest of them all so that he and Cubellios will never be in hell ever again.

Brain smiles at them. "Think of your greatest wish in the world. It will become your prayer and my seal. Take a day to choose wisely. It won't work unless it's something you desire with your whole heart."

Brain walks out but Cobra doesn't need twenty-four hours. Hell, he doesn't even need thirty seconds.

_I want to hear my best friend singing._

* * *

Brain promises to help him hear Cubellios's voice. He doesn't understand why people wonder why he follows a mad man. Cubellios is always there for him, through deadly battles and frustrated rants. He will do  _anything_  to return the favor.

So, Cobra cuts his losses when the bastard betrays him. He probably should've expected that hit but his ears are ringing from his fight with Natsu and it takes far too much focusing to hear more than a voice at one time. He reaches for Cubellios, trying to take in any injury she might have suffered through blurry eyes and slumps when the black finally overtakes him.

When Cobra wakes to see his best friend missing, he worries. He attempts to stand up to find her but, he collapses in blinding pain and the soldiers are there to take him away.

When Cobra forces the ringing in his ears to fade but still can't hear Cubellios's singing, he screams.

* * *

Years pass, and he doesn't care that he's in prison because his chest feels as though it's trying to explode and consume itself at the same time. It's a near blinding pain and Cobra can barely cope with it, only able to spare enough energy to go through the daily motions. He musters up enough will to escape prison with the rest of his guild, though he can only move because of the hope that he might find Cubellios out there. He hasn't heard her singing in years and he thinks that if he goes any longer without it, he might truly go insane. He sometimes thinks insanity would be a blessing, anything to escape this hellish, gaping pain.

But, life's cruel and continues to let him survive one more day.

* * *

Cobra's sitting against an old pillar, trying to relax in the pleasant afternoon. He hisses to himself, the pit in his chest refusing to close and the lullaby sounds so  _wrong_. He can't sing like Cubellios can (not could,  _never_  could, no matter what Angel says - Cubellios is alive, dammit). But, despite how snake-like he is, he still can't hiss as beautifully as she can. His shoulders' tense as he hears Angel rounding the corner.

"For angels' sake, you're not an animal, idiot."

Cobra's shoulders don't relax. "Get lost bitch."

Angel snorts as she slowly walks into his view. "I'm not the one acting like a monster."

Cobra hisses and glares at her. Just because Angel has never forgiven him doesn't mean she's allowed to take it out on Cubellios, even if she's not here. The pit in his chest deepens.

"For angels' sake!" Angel glares at him and marches up to slap him. He readies his magic only to pause when she suddenly switches tactics and leans down to yell at him. "Your pet ran away. Big deal. Get over the stupid thing-"

His vision goes black for a second and suddenly, he's holding Angel against the wall with a death grip around her throat. Cobra snarls, to angry to care that he's choking Angel. He should probably be worried he's blacking out in anger but, he's been unstable and teetering on the edge of insanity ever since he woke up to find Cubellios gone all those years ago. He tightens his grip on Angel's ridiculously pale neck and hopes it's purple with bruises. "Don't insult Cubellios."

She grips his hand and flails. An ugly sneer stretches across his face, mocking her helplessness. She raises her hand to slap him and he laughs at her pathetic attempt for freedom. He slams her wrist against the wall with an iron grip, moving in close. Her eyes widen and he takes a sadistic thrill in her fear. "Mention Cubellios one more time, and I will kill you."

He lets Angel fall and walks away, hissing the lullaby to himself. But, Cubellios is so much better at it than him and he can barely remember what it's supposed to be like when she's not there to comfort him. He grits his teeth and pounds his chest, right over the gaping pit that should be his heart. But, Cubellios isn't there to fill it and he's left with his own mockery of her hissing. It's all he can do not to collapse in pain.

He had promised Cubellios that he'd be the strongest of them all so that they'd never be in hell again. That he'd always protect her. It was the promise of a lifetime, one of his top priorities. The only thing that was more important was being able to hear her voice.

And now, she's not even there to hear his apology.

* * *

He doesn't particularly care that the Infinity Clock plan failed pitifully and they're going to lose to Fairy Tail again. It stings his pride like no other but, in the end, he's still alone and hasn't found Cubellios.

And now, there's this stupid girl pestering him. Doesn't the idiot know better than to help high-class criminals?

He pushes her away when he hears it. The slightest whisper of a hissing lullaby. He freezes for a moment before hearing it next to him. He whips around to face the civilian girl. "You!"

He lunges and pushes her to the ground (gently though - so, so genty). It doesn't make sense because Cubellios is strong and prideful and the creature below him is a frail and delicate thing but, he finally  _looks_  at her.

And her heart sings.

* * *

_thecookiemonster77 . tumblr . com_


End file.
